Last month, I attended the Wine Entre Femme trade and press tasting in San Francisco. It was the concluding event of this year's Wine Entre Femme Conference . The Wine Entre Femme organization, founded in 2009, is made up of women in the wine industry who share ideas and experiences in the wine business with each other. The majority of it's members are from either Napa or Bordeaux, but other parts of France, Switzerland, South Africa and even Japan and Turkey are represented.

It's good to see this group thriving. It was also nice to hear that, though there is still the occasional issue, most of the women don't see gender as being much of a factor in their business anymore. The industry has come a long way. Cathy Corison recollected that when she went to work "hauling hoses" at Freemark Abbey in 1978, she was just the second woman in Napa Valley to be seriously involved in the winemaking process. Now, many of the most sought after winemakers in the world are women. Women also hold important management roles in all parts of the industry.

Of course, there are some things that haven't changed. Cathy Corison still makes great wine. She was pouring the beautiful Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Kronos Vineyard wines from the 2000 and 2004 vintages. Here are some of the highlights from the tasting. (Note that I didn't get to taste all of the wines and focused on California. I did more talking than tasting.)

Very Highly Recommended
2006 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill, $135
2000 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Kronos Vineyard, $NA
2004 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Kronos Vineyard, $125
2000 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $NA
2006 Dalla Valle Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $150
2006 Melka Metisse Proprietary Red Napa Valley, $145
2006 Phifer Pavitt Date Night Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $75
2006 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $130
2001 William Cole Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley "Cuvee Claire," $NA

Highly Recommended
2007 Behrens Family Sainte Fumée California Red Wine (70% Syrah), $NA
2007 Chappellet Merlot, $35
2007 Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, $47
2007 Drinkward Peschon Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $55
2006 Joseph Phelps Insignia, $200
2006 Lail Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee, $125
2006 La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $150
2007 La Sirena Pirate TreasuRed Napa Valley, $50
2005 La Sirena Syrah Barrett Vineyards Calistoga Napa Valley, $80
2007 Melka CJ Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $48
2006 William Cole Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley "Cuvee Claire," $150

Recommended
2007 Titus Estate Cabernet Franc Napa Valley, $35
2006 Titus Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $40
2007 Titus Estate Zinfandel Napa Valley, $25

This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2010 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved.

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